Gone
by Maeinli
Summary: Betrayal was the last thing he'd expected from Japan, but it's what happened.


Disclaimer: I actually own very few things in life...this is not one of them.

**Gone **

Yao sat ridged where he'd fallen to his knees. Head tilted back and eyes closed tightly in pain, giving the illusion of pushing something out or taking something in. Tears had long dried on his face, soaked into the skin, making it stiff and flushed.

The pain was unbearable as it vibrated through his whole body. Every movement brought a new wave upon him; he tried hard not to move.

His hair had come undone from its' usual hair tie and flowed down his back, becoming plastered with and in the blood that had dried hours before, mixing black with red until it became almost impossible to tell one from the other.

Physically, he'd survived much worse than a mere scar on his back. One did not live as many years as he did and go through it unscathed.

But this, _this _was so much different. It mentally drained him of his energy, his senses, his logic.

How could this have happened? How could he have let it _become _this bad? Where had he gone wrong?

_Nihon _had attacked him, without cause or reason. There were probably reasons that the other thought was justified, 'We need our independence from you', or 'This was the only way.' But his body and mind was still in shock as he lay there, letting the blood clot, rather than stopping it himself.

It hadn't happened long ago, possibly last evening, he couldn't tell anymore.

….

"_Nihon! Yao called out, searching his house for the younger nation. It was time to eat and Nihon wasn't one to be late or keep him waiting. _

"_Nihon?" _

_He'd been acting odd lately, more distant and quiet, but that had always been part of his younger brother's personality to some extent, so Yao hadn't let it worry him for too long, figuring whatever was bothering the younger nation would work itself out eventually. _

_Yao turned the corner and saw a faint light in a nearby room. Ah, so there was his wayward brother, he walked in to see Nihon's back facing him, straight and determined. Nothing would have been out of the ordinary, had he not been wearing a suit, western garb. _

"_Nihon-kun? What are you doing?" Yao was confused. What was the other doing? Why was he dressed that way? _

_Nihon released a huge sigh, as if letting go of a laboring weight. _

"_I can't be part of you anymore, China." His tone was cold, unemotional, as he stayed facing away from his brother, refusing to look at him. What had happened to calling him Nii-san or Aniki? _

"_What are you talking about, aru?" He took a hesitant step forward but halted suddenly when Nihon's hand commented with the hilt of his Katana, letting the metal fall into place in his hand. _

"_I need to become independent, China. From you." The Katana slid cleanly out its' sheath, ringing in a high tone as Japan pulled it free with grace and care, practiced for centuries. _

_Yao took a step back eyes widening, sensing the finality in the other's voice. Nihon never did anything halfway once he'd made up his mind. Yao forced his voice to steady, "Then what have you decided?" _

_Nihon glanced up at him, eyes betraying a moment of weakness, of shame. Then they hardened as he strengthened his resolve, "That this is the only way." _

_It was not a battle, and it was barely a scuffle. China was not armed and barely prepared and true to western culture Japan took full advantage. It ended when China tried to avoid a upward slash to his heart by turning away, instead trading it for a long cut across the middle of his back. _

_He did not fall immediately and though the pain tore as his body. He fought for a few short minutes before it became too much and he was forced to the ground, kneeling in front of the other nation. _

_Japan looked horrified for a moment, and then he lifted up his katana, ready to finish what he'd started. China lifted up his head, readying himself for what would come, closing his eyes to let the image fade away. _

_And he could not do it, with a frustrated yell; Japan shoved the weapon back into place and walked past the older nation, leaving nothing behind but these words. _

"_Goodbye, Nii-san." _

….

He did not beg for the other to come back, nor did he let himself move from where he'd fallen, where he'd almost lost his life. How long he'd let himself linger, bleeding and in pain, no one would ever know.

He almost wanted to die, but he knew it would take much more to kill him. Countries and Nations did not fall so easily.

"Yao-nii!"

A loud and ever cheerful voice echoed through the house, footsteps clamoring through the hallways, breaking through Yao's thoughts, and shattering them like glass.

The door slid open with a loud band, "Aniki! I was thinking…" the voice choked away and the sudden silence was suffocating.

Yong Soo rushed to his side kneeling in front of him, "Aniki? Aniki! What happened? What's going on?"

Yao tried to force himself to focus, but he could not, the other nation talked too quickly, too loudly. And all he wanted to do was sleep, maybe he'd wake up and this would all be some twisted dream.

"Yao-nii!" Yao felt hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look up in the uncharacteristically serious face of Yong Soo. Why was he so distressed? What was happening?

"Yao!"

Finally, Yao felt himself begin to come back together, and he felt his eyes begin to water as he remembered what happened. He lifted one of his hands the cling to other's that was against his cheek.

"He's gone." Was all that his jumbled mind would put together as he began to sob freely, wracking sobs that shot pain through his body.

"Nihon's gone."

-------

_Where did all of this angst come from! DX I swear this stuff just sneaks up on me. In real life, I'm an annoyingly cheerful person, like the person you feel like slapping everyonce in a while because you wish they would stop smiling so much. _

_Reviews are good for an authors soul! :D _


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